MATH 71 FALL 2012 INTERMEDIATE ALGEBRA Instructor: Alina Birca Email/Phone: abirca@mtsac.edu ; 909-594-5611 ext 5364 Website: www.timetodare.com or http://elearn.mtsac.edu/abirca/ Office: Building 61 Room 1658 Office hours: Tue: 4:00 4:30; Th: 11:00 11:30 & 4:00 4:30; Friday: 10:15 11:30 & 1:05 2:20 Text: web-based tutorial system ALEKS (with or without ebook)- see page 5 for details Section #20981 TThF 11:30 am 1:05 pm Bldg 61 Room 2410 Course Objectives Intermediate Algebra is a second semester study of basic methods in algebra with an emphasis on modeling and problem solving. A common thread through this course is the idea that any problem in basic algebra can be addressed through the use of: (1) relations between expressions using operations on numbers and variables; (2) tabulated data; (3) visual displays (graphs). Some of the course objectives are: - the ability to model problems or phenomena by algebraic expressions and equations; - the ability to consider a problem using algebraic, numerical, graphical, and verbal methods; - the ability to write an algebraic expression from a verbal description, to recognize trends in a table of data, and to extract and interpret information from the graph of a function. - the ability to apply mathematical techniques to study and understand new situations; - a thorough understanding of functions (linear, quadratic, polynomial, rational, exponential, and logarithmic). - a thorough understanding of sequences and the binomial theorem. - the ability to recognize the behavior and characteristic properties of parabolas, circles, ellipses, and hyperbolas. - the ability to apply studied principles and skills to new situations in addition to situations that mirror those on the homework and those shown in class. Methods of Instruction This course will combine lecture, teamwork, online work, and class discussion. Students will be required to do homework, group problems, quizzes and examinations. Attendance and Participation Understanding math requires more than just reading a textbook. Listening and participating in the class activities are as important as solving problems. College policy requires that you attend every class meeting. Moreover, I do notice when you do not show up. If your grade is on a borderline, those with regular attendance are more likely to be on the higher side of the line. In addition, you miss the material from that day and that day s quiz. Do not be late to class. The homework is due at the beginning of the class. You might also miss the quiz if you are late. NOTE: You the student are responsible for dropping the course should you decide not to continue in it. If you stop attending and doing the work and you fail to drop, you will receive a failing grade in this course. If you miss class, are late more than 15 minutes, or leave early during the add period, you will be dropped and someone on the wait list will be added. If you are absent three times or more, you may be dropped from class. Being late or leaving early counts as half a day. Prerequisites There is an official prerequisite for this course (Math 51 Beginning Algebra), and I expect that you demonstrate beginning algebra skills (properties of real numbers, polynomials, exponents, absolute value, factoring, evaluating algebraic expressions, linear and quadratic equations). It is your responsibility to know the prerequisite material when you register for this class. Study time & Extra help You are expected to study two hours outside class for every hour in class - that is at least 10 hours a week. If you have trouble completing assignments or understanding the mathematics, get help as soon as you need it. Free tutorial services are available in the MARC center located at the first floor (bldg 61 - Math). Late Work Be prepared with all assignments on the day they are due. As a rule, I do not accept late written work nor are there any make up tests or quizzes.
Academic Honesty Plagiarism or cheating will not be tolerated. There will be a zero on the assignment and risk failing the course. Calculators A graphing calculator is NOT REQUIRED for this class! All of the problems I will assign this semester will be done using paper, pencil, ruler and a scientific calculator. No graphing calculators are allowed during the tests. No cell phones are allowed during the tests. If you have a phone or pager, please turn it to vibrate and sit close to the door in case you need to use it in an emergency. Thank you. Organization, Grading and Requirements You will need a 3-hole binder with 3 separators, labeled as follows: LECTURES HOMEWORK TESTS & QUIZZES LECTURES Pay attention in class to what I say and do, and make careful notes. In particular, note the problems I work on the board, and copy the complete solutions as well as the theory presented in each section. Work as neatly as you can. Write your symbols clearly, and make sure the exercises are clearly separated from each other. Do not hesitate to ask questions in class. It is not a sign of weakness, but of strength. There are always other students with the same question who are too shy to ask. HOMEWORK Before you start on homework assignments, rework the problems I worked in class as well as all examples from the textbook and MyMathLab. This will reinforce what you have learned. Make sure you check your previous work against the solutions posted on my website. Print out the solutions from my website for your reference. Keep all quizzes and tests that are returned to you in your binder. Use them when you study for future tests and for the final exam. Assignments in the course are divided into four areas and are worth a total of 1000 points. Those earning 900 points or more will be awarded an A, 800 to 899 points a B, 700 to 799 points a C, 600 to 699 points a D and less than 599 points an F. Homework (written and online) 13% The written homework is due at the beginning of the class. In general, this homework is due every other Friday. Read carefully all the directions from the homework handout. Late homework will not be accepted for any reason. Sloppy homework will not be graded. You are encouraged to discuss assignments with your classmates; however, you are required to write up your work independently. Copied homework will not be tolerated and identical, or nearly identical, assignments will share a single homework score. There will be 8 written homework, worth a total of 6% of your grade. The online homework is due as specified in your ALEKS calendar. In general, the online homework is due every Tuesday. You have three attempts to do every online homework. If you do one homework more than once (up to three times), the best score will be selected. The online homework is worth a total of 7% of your grade. ALEKS Pie 7% This is part of the learning process, where you build up the skills you need. The ALEKS pie objectives are due every Sunday. Completing the pie objectives is worth a total of 10% of your grade. Due dates are listed in the ALEKS calendar. Tests 52% points Four tests will be given over the major areas addressed in the course. Each test is worth 13% of your grade. For an exercise to be complete there needs to be a detailed solution to the problem. Do not just write down an answer. No proof, no credit given! Comprehensive final 28% points The final is a 2 ½ hour cumulative exam and it is held on Tuesday, December 11 th, 10:30 am 1:00 pm. If you qualify (homework must be at least 70%), you may use the final exam percent score to replace your lowest test or quiz score. However, a test/quiz with a score of zero cannot be replaced by the final score. You must take the final to pass this class.
Tentative Class Schedule DATE TOPICS ASSIGNMENTS DUE Tuesday August 28 Chapter 1 Review Thursday August 30 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 Review Friday August 31 2.4, 2.5, 2.6 - Review Sunday September 2 ALEKS objectives Tuesday September 4 2.7 ALEKS homework Thursday September 6 3.1, 3.2 Friday September 7 3.3, 3.4 Written homework 1 Sunday September 9 ALEKS objectives Tuesday September 11 3.5 ALEKS homework Thursday September 13 4.1, 4.3 Friday September 14 More practice Sunday September 16 ALEKS objectives Tuesday September 18 Test #1 ALEKS homework Thursday September 20 4.2, 4.3 Friday September 21 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 Written homework 2 Sunday September 23 ALEKS objectives Tuesday September 25 5.4, 5.5 ALEKS homework Thursday September 27 6.1, 6.2, 6.3 Friday September 28 6.4, 6.5 Sunday September 30 ALEKS objectives Tuesday October 2 7.1, 7.2 ALEKS homework Thursday October 4 7.3, 7.4, 7.5 Friday October 5 7.6 Written homework 3 Sunday October 7 ALEKS objectives Tuesday October 9 Test #2 ALEKS homework Thursday October 11 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4 Friday October 12 8.5, 8.6, 8.7 Sunday October 14 ALEKS objectives Tuesday October 16 8.8 ALEKS homework Thursday October 18 9.1 Friday October 19 9.2, 9.3 Written homework 4 Sunday October 21 ALEKS objectives Tuesday October 23 9.4, 9.5 ALEKS homework Thursday October 25 9.5, 9.6 Friday October 26 9.7 Sunday October28 ALEKS objectives
Tuesday October 30 More practice ALEKS homework Thursday November 1 10.1 Friday November 2 10.2 Written homework 5 Sunday November 4 ALEKS objectives Tuesday November 6 Test #3 ALEKS homework Thursday November 8 10.3 Friday November 9 10.4, 10.5 Sunday November 11 ALEKS objectives Tuesday November 13 10.6 ALEKS homework Thursday November 15 More practice Friday November 16 11.2 Written homework 6 Sunday November 18 ALEKS objectives Tuesday November 20 11.3, 11.5 ALEKS homework Thursday November 22 Holiday - Thanksgiving Friday November 23 Holiday - Thanksgiving Sunday November 25 Tuesday November 27 11.4, 11.5 ALEKS homework Thursday November 29 More practice Friday November 30 Test #4 Written homework 7 Sunday December 2 ALEKS objectives Tuesday December 4 12.1 Thursday December 6 12.4 Friday December 7 Review Written homework 8 Sunday December 9 ALEKS objectives ALEKS homework Final exam TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11 10:30 am 1:00 pm
For this Math 71 course we will be using a web-based tutorial system called ALEKS. The address is www.aleks.com We will use this system for skill-building, homework, and to keep track of your grades. There are two parts to ALEKS. One is a homework part ( appears as online homework in the syllabus). The other is a learning part where you build up the skills you need for Algebra (appears as pie objectives in the syllabus). Together, they contribute 14% to your overall grade for the course. Other than that, this course is like all other Math 71 courses at Mt.SAC. We will be following the same outline and covering the same material. Most of your grade 86% - will be determined by written homework and tests, given in class, using paper and pencil, in the same manner as with every course I teach. To use ALEKS, you will have to purchase an access code online for the summer intersession. HOW TO START ON ALEKS: 1. Go to the ALEKS website. http://www.aleks.com 2. Click on the link for "SIGN UP NOW" to the left of the page, under the space for Registered Users (This is the only time you will click on that button.) 3. On the page that follows, enter the Course Code in the spaces to the left of the window. Do not use the button on the right-hand side. The code for this course is G4GKC-6UP4V. 4. Enter other information as prompted. 5. In the course of registration, you will be prompted for you individual Access Code. Click on the link that says purchase an access code online. Choose the following option: - ALEKS 360 Higher-Ed 1-semester (18 weeks) (US $80.00)- this will give you access to the ALEKS program AND the ebook 6. Record you Login Name and Password, provided by the system. (You can change you Password now or later if you wish.) 7. Begin using ALEKS by taking the Student Tutorial and an initial Assessment. You will subsequently use you Login Name and Password to enter you account. It is important to get started with this right away. Using ALEKS on any computer requires a simple JAVA plug-in that you can easily download, so it will check for that first. The first time you log on to ALEKS, you will be asked to go through a simple tutorial on how to use it. The next thing is a 25-30 question assessment test. This test does not affect your grade, but it is important because it determines where you will begin working on building up your skills. Take it seriously, but do not stress if you do not know something. You need to have paper and pencil. Simple calculators without graphic or symbolic functions may be used for Algebra. The ALEKS assessment is adaptive and variable in length. Some students will have very short assessments, whereas others will have assessments that are longer. Consistency of effort and concentration are the factors most likely to influence the length of an assessment. After the test you will see your skills profile on a pie chart, and you can then click on certain topics to work on. There are deadlines for making progress on your pie chart (usually every Sunday). The first one of these is Sunday, September 2. All of these will be listed on a calendar you will see in ALEKS. The first online homework is due on Tuesday, September 4.
Financial aid - in case you do not have the money to purchase the code right away, you have a two-week grace period Your Course Code is: G4GKC-6UP4V. Your Financial Aid Access Code is: 1EAB2-5BC86-D7E00-AAAFB The Financial Aid Access Code does not add an additional two weeks to your account. NOTE: This code gives you temporary access to ALEKS for a two-week period. Once the code expires, you will be locked out of your ALEKS account until you purchase a regular Student Access Code. It is highly recommended that you purchase the Student Access Code BEFORE the two weeks expire to prevent interruptions with your ALEKS account. 1. To log into ALEKS using the Financial Aid Access Code, go to: http://www.aleks.com. 2. Click on the "SIGN UP NOW!" link located under the login box on the left of the page. 3. Enter your Course Code in the box labeled "Using ALEKS with a Class?" and click on "Continue." 4. Verify that you are registering for the correct course and click on "Continue." Enter the 20-character Financial Aid Access Code. 5. Continue with the registration process until your account has been set up successfully. 6. After you complete your account set up you will be logged into ALEKS and can immediately begin working in the course. 7.You can extend your ALEKS account at any time by clicking on "extend your account" and entering a purchased Student Access Code. If your temporary access expires before you purchase a Student Access Code, simply log in to ALEKS and you will be directed on how to extend your current account. You will then be able to continue your course where you left off before the temporary access expired. You do NOT need to create a new ALEKS account to continue your course. Note: ALEKS technical support: 714-619-7090